50 Years Matter, Even to a Time Lord

On Nov. 23, 1963, a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey landed his blue police box in a British junkyard, and the universe has never been the same. This week, the BBC celebrates the 50th anniversary of “Doctor Who,” ranked as the most successful science-fiction television series by Guinness World Records, as it prepares for the arrival of the Twelfth Doctor (Peter Capaldi) in this year’s Christmas special.

Starting Monday morning at 9 on BBC America, a “Doctor Who Takeover” will devote a week of programming to the Ninth (Christopher Eccleston), Tenth (David Tennant) and Eleventh (Matt Smith) Doctors; an examination of the science behind his time travel and his two hearts; and a retelling of the show’s genesis in “An Adventure in Space and Time,” Friday night at 9. The festivities reach a climax Saturday afternoon at 2:50 as the Tenth and Eleventh incarnations team up for their most epic adventure yet, battling something terrible at the National Gallery in London before catapulting back to Elizabethan England to squelch a murder plot, in “Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor,” broadcast simultaneously to more than 75 countries.

A version of this article appears in print on , Section AR, Page 4 of the New York edition with the headline: 50 Years Matter, Even to a Time Lord. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe